I have followed the other threads regarding chi and medical issues with interest, and have been impressed by the knowledge out there. I was wondering if anyone might be able to comment on something I am experiencing. I have lost large quantities of hair, in a short space of time and although the cause is yet to be identified, all the possibilites indicate it will grow back. However, as a girl you can imagine this is very distressing for me and I wondered if there is anything I can be doing to be proactive while I wait for western medicine to come up with answers. I wondered if encouraging chi to my scalp would be beneficial, for example, Master Yang has shown how after beating the heavanly drum, one may tap the top of the head with the fingertips to lead the chi out of the top of the head..should I increase such exercises? Are there others I many use to stimulate chi in this area? Any advice would be most gratefully received. Cheers.

Hmmm...a Dr. can probably answer this better, but from a qigong perspective, I would say to try both the exercises of tapping the head, and also gentle scalp massage. In addition, I think trying to increase your hormone levels might play a key role - you can do so by various means as described in Dr Yang's books: getting to sleep by 9PM or so, 10PM at the latest, increasing sexual stimulation, small circulation, and even just deep abdominal breathing.

"Avoid Prejudice, Be Objective in Your Judgement, Be Scientific, Be Logical and Make Sense, Do Not Ignore Prior Experience." - Dr. Yang

Thanks David, yes, the doctor is working on the answer. She seems 99% sure tis stress but I gave gallons of blood the other day towards the purpose of testing for a load of other fun options. I appreciate your response and your suggestions. If I have an opportunity on Tuesday night I will ask Master Yang about scalp massage. Cheers Inga

Just an update, I did get a chance to ask Master Yang about this. He recommended the tapping of the fingers on the scalp, followed by a gentle sweeping motion of the hands over the top of the head (bring the hands from the face, over the top of the head and down the back of the neck). He emphasized that that no rubbing should take place, this can increase the loss of hair.

If its stress, then that's something you can do something about, which should be some relief!

I've been thinking about stress lately, and feel like I've learned something helpful. All of us are constantly bombarded by stress on various levels, family, work, noise pollution, and even just the excited rate of daily life, and the speed of advertising images and TV editing.

How we choose to react to stress is a decision we can make each time we're faced with it.

(And I think in there somewhere there is a bit of 'mind over matter'.) When you decide, "I am relaxed", and maintain a neutral mental state, and breathe deeply, slowly, and continuously...stress doesn't have much effect. And in this state I believe your body responds overwhelmingly with healing, rejuvenation, and general wellbeing.

excellent post david :) thanx..yea, music at silly volumes is a necessity sometimes. they still have not contacted me with the lab results, and i have chased them up, but i reckon if something nasty was going on, they would have called me. it's pretty likely stress. and i have some wonderful coping mechanisms. in fact i'm doing very well, it's just as my doc says, even when you are as fit as you are, and doing okay, it has to come out somehow. earlier in the year it was a rash on my face. that went away. and she says the hair will grow back. good lord i hope so. happy holidays all by the way. let's kick back, eat, drink and be merry and throw on that slayer cd...

I'll quote from a text book "The Foundations of Chinese Medicine" by Maciocia pp. 97-98

on the functions of the Kidneys, (amongst others) they

-"Open into the Ears
The earls rely on the nourishment of the Essence for their proper functioning, and are therefore physiologically related to the kidneys. The 'Spiritual Axis' in chapter 17 says: 'The kidneys open into the ears, if the kidneys are healthy the ears can hear the five sounds'.
If the kidneys are weak, hearing may be impaired and there may be tinnitus."

-"Manifest on the hair
The hair also relies on the nourishment of the Kidney-essence to grow. If the kidney-essence is abundant, the hair will grow well and will be healthy and glossy. If the kidney-essence is weak or is declining, the hair will become thin, brittle, dull looking and may fall out altogether. The first chapter of the 'Simple Questions' says: 'If the kidneys are strong, the teeth will be firm and the hair grow well.... if the kidneys are declining in energy, the hair wil fall out and the teeth become loose'.
... if the kidney-essence is weak, the hair will be thin and become gray."

I included the bit about the ears because:
1. if you also have tinnitus, it may give you a hint that your Kidney Qi is a little low.
2. I saw a post by Dvivid (whose comments I enjoy reading and find most educational) about ringing in the ears being natural. Hence I thought I would provide the opinions of others on this here to increase the knowledge base. Namely, yes, hearing ringing in our ears when we are very quiet is probably quite natural. Some forms of ringing (eg. ringing at all/most times and drowning out other sounds) may be pathological - as suggested by the above quote.

One of my TCM teachers made the point that tinnitus pathology can be divided into 2 sources (clearly there may also be other sources, these are the ones I heard of). They are (if my memory serves me correctly, and I ask others to verify this prior to serious consideration):
1. Deficient Kidney Qi - High pitch ringing in the ears
2. Gall Bladder issues - low pitch ringing in the ears.

The bit on the hair speaks for itself.

In TCM (and hence QiGong) the Kidneys are closely linked to the FEAR emotion. Which one could also link to stress. Hence, excess stress will deplete/impair Kidney qi. Hence, I agree with Davids comments on stress reduction.

If western medicine has not provided you with answers yet, or you want another opinion, consider consulting someone who can do a proper TCM diagnosis (ie. reading pulse, tongue and asking relevant questions) and provide related treatment (typically in the form of foul tasting tea). It may be worth doing this regardless, as TCM is the only medical system I know of that can identify disharmony before it manifests into physical problems.

If your Kidneys are deficient, also consider eating foods that boost Kidney qi (eg. Pork and Sesame Seeds(Tahini)) - see book by Lun Wong "Food For the Seasons".

TCM also says that Kidney Qi becomes deficient automatically as we age.
"The Yellow Emperor asked, "Can anything be done to harmonize and adjust these two principles of nature?" Qi Bo answered: "If one has the ability to know the seven injuries and the eight advantages, one can bring the two principles into harmony. If one does not know how to use this knowledge, his life will be doomed to early decay. By the age of forty the Yin force in the body (Comment by Sascha: In TCM the Kidneys are the root of Qi including Yin) has been reduced to one-half of its natural vigor and an individual's youthful prowess has deteriorated. By the age of fifty the body has grown heavy. The ears no longer hear well. The eyes no longer see clearly By the age of sixty the life producing power of Yin has declined to a very low level. Impotence sets in The nine orifices no longer benefit each other".
Quote pinched from this link (which is an interesting read)
http://www.acupuncture.com.au/education ... dyang.html

This makes me wonder if hair loss in men is necessarily genetic. I'll leave that speculation for another time. Now, back on track.

A part of a QiGong form I learnt had us
1. putting our hands on our head
2. moving the hands away from head in 3 stages (ie. say ~3, 6, 9 cm or pick a distance)
3. at each stage saying "long', 'strong', 'black' (for those with black hair) respectively.
4. repeating 1-3 all over the head.

I believe this works on directing the qi to the hair and probably also on our subconscious (ie. programming/visualizing)

And finally, Dr Yang talks about massaging the Kidneys to boost Kidney Qi. Please refer to his materials for the correct direction, as the opposite direction will calm Kidney Qi (something you probably do not want). I believe this info was in the lecture on Sitting 8 Pieces of Brocade. Movement 6 of standing 8 pieces (ie. reach for sky and then touch toes) also strengthens Kidneys - if memory serves me correctly.

I hope that some of the above has been helpful.

Please let us know what happens/happened.

Perhaps others who have similar problems could comment - I believe hair loss is a common problem and TCM has many answers - hence this long winded response.

Sascha, thank you for that long and full post. So much to think about and respond to, but I will say these few things. The majority of my hair is healthy and not brittle, it is coming out at the roots, an indication of stress rather than hair maltreatment (colouring) or poor diet, or other internal malady. I have passed all my western medical tests (and they tested for A LOT), in fact when they called with the results the nurse actually said "These are good, you are very healthy". I have seen my doctor, a specialist and talked to two hairdressers (one yesterday) and they all concur that it is stress, the good news being that in about 6 months time it should begin to grow back, once the hair loss has settled down. It stopped, then started again a bit. The specialist says that the hair loss occurs at the end of the stressful period, not during, which is what befuddles a lot of people - it sure did me :) I suppose my bottom line is I know what is going on, and I have hope that it will resolve in time. I am not using any western medical treatment, although some are available, my doc and I agree with simple measures. And reducing stress is the key. I already have many, many measures in place to cope with and deflect stress, but getting rid of the source is my goal. It is a slow process, but I am getting there. My friends have been super supportive and helpful. Talking here has helped too. Thank you both your responses.

I have just completed the Eight Pieces of Brocade seminar with Master Yang this week, and we worked on the massage you speak of. I shall be incorporating this more regularly into my routine, instead of now and again, as I was doing.

Hair loss can be a cause for concern, especially when you think you can not stop could be transferred to a beautiful long hair thick hair very little. The woman hair is her beauty and some women like your hair a very important aspect. While taking the pill, some hair loss can happen you can do some things against it. Try changing your shampoo and see if this will help with hair loss, sometimes a mixture of estrogen and too aggressive products make the problem worse.

I think hair loss concerns most people, yes, because it's not just disfiguring in our vain eyes, but also because it can be a sign of illness. I have not heard of estrogen levels being an issue, but regarding shampoo and conditioners I have learned that avoiding any product with SLS in it "Sodium Lauryl Sulfate" is a good idea. It's a bit like using dishwasher liquid, and it's in almost all hair products because it's cheap, 'foams up' and gets that "squeaky" clean. It does degrease the hair but it also strips out the natural oils that keep it soft and healthy. It destroys the balance. Basically, SLS is corrosive, and once I became aware of it, I noticed it in other products I use, toothpaste, and body wash. The skin on my legs had been bothering me for awhile, my doctor had recommended all these moisturisers, but once I stopped using SLS laced body wash, my skin was restored. I was trying to treat a symptom, not find the cure (sadly often a typical western medicine approach). Of course because some companies are getting onto this idea more alternative SLS free products are coming online, and they are expensive. This might be because they have better quality ingredients, but having found some affordable alternatives with good components I wonder if there is a degree of taking advantage of health conscious people (well, this is better for me, and I'm worth it, etc). Shrugs. I do know that as well as changing shampoos, success can be had using herbal remedies and laser treatment. My hair did begin to grow back after my stress levels came down, but it was slow, and being impatient I investigated non-surgical alternatives. Not a fun experience, and embarrassing for women to discuss, but ultimately I feel fortunate to be healthy and not facing an debilitating illness.

Hairs are the most important and sensitive part of our body. It need more care and look after as compare to other body organs. Mostly people use chemical shampoo for hair wash and machine for hair dry. Both make hair roots damage and result in hairs loss or fall.Most other reasons for hair fall like hair color, use of gel, lack of vitamin E, chemical shampoo etc.Try to ignore and keep away from them...

I've actually been thinking about hair loss because of some other Qigong advice I've been receiving, but I certainly hope that this doesn't hijack the thread. Indeed, I hope that it in some way could help someone else, as well as myself. I've been told that taking a cold shower, as opposed to a warm one, will stimulate blood flow to the follicles and thus help to stave off hair loss. I've read stories in some sources where people suffering hair loss switch to cold showers and then begin to stop shedding out existing hair because of this effect.

On the other hand, I've heard that contrary to popular belief, cold showers can increase bloodstream testosterone levels and thus, from a western medical standpoint, lead to increased risk of hair loss. It's been suggested to me for unrelated reasons to take at least some of my showers cold.

I'm not balding by any means, and I actually have quite long hair, so I mean in absolutely no way to be disrespectful to anyone who is grappling with the issue. I also realize Dr. Yang himself is a particularly healthy bald man. On the other hand, like so many, hair loss is a fear of mine and reading this story brought me certain things I could relate to.